It's a little-known fact that long before the former members of Joy Division chose the New Order moniker for their subsequent group, a band called New Order existed in Los Angeles. Hardly a group of unknowns, former Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton formed the short-lived band in the mid-'70s. The name of the group was in line with Asheton's well-documented fascination for Nazi paraphernalia.

In the wake of the commercial failure of the Stooges' Raw Power album, New Order came together, recording a self-titled album for RCA in Los Angeles during 1975 and 1976. Besides Asheton, the group included Dennis Thompson (drums), Ray Gun (guitar), Jimi Recca (bass), Jeff Spry (vocals), Dave Gilbert (vocals), and Scott Thurston (keyboards). The group soon folded however, with Asheton surfacing in the vaunted Detroit cult band Destroy All Monsters (known for punk-era singles like Bored and Meet the Creeper). In 1981, Asheton joined ex-Radio Birdman bandmembers Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in the New Race. ~ Erik Hage, Rovi